On a gray afternoon in the first few days of December, Allison Bennett entered the sports office fresh off practice with her brow still damp and her ankle braces still strung tight.
But after a strenuous three-hour practice, Bennett's demeanor showed that she was ready for another.
Bennett, who is known for her tough-as-nails work ethic, is still adjusting to her role as senior co-captain for the UB Bulls women's basketball team. Leadership, expression, and communication are just a few skills her job requires.
She has to help lead a team filled with youngsters, a team composed of eight underclassmen, including freshman guard Stephanie Bennett, her little sister. Bennett said that playing on a team with her sister presents unexpected challenges.
"It was a two-on-two drill and we all had dribbling goggles on so we couldn't see very well," Bennett said, revealing what happened just minutes before. "So when we went up for a rebound, my elbow hit Steph's goggles, cutting her eyebrow. We were on the same team, it was a total accident," said Bennett while flashing a smile. "She's actually at the hospital right now getting stitches."
The two sisters have not always been this close. It took a summer at Wittenberg University to bring them together.
Over the summer, the two spent hours during the humid months in their hometown of Springfield, Ohio, at the local university perfecting their respective games - taking shot after shot, doing drills with increased intensity, running until their lungs collapsed.
"During the summer is when I realized we were going to play Division I basketball together. We got really close and even more competitive, I don't want my little sister to beat me, I can't let her beat me," Bennett said.
Born and raised in Springfield, Bennett grew up surrounded by sports. Her father, an ex-college football player, along with three active uncles, all played a role in developing Bennett into the player she is today.
"My dad is a huge influence on my basketball skills, he'd teach me the little things that would make me better, like left-handed lay-ups," Bennett said.
Since the third grade, Bennett has soaked up basketball lessons from her family, often taking criticism for the shortcomings she displayed.
"My dad and uncles always had us out there working, they were always hard on us, focusing on things that we did wrong. It took me a long time to realize why they were so hard on me, but now I realize why they did it," she added.
But Bennett knew this year would be different, that it would be special. She needed to learn patience with the young UB squad and she needed to believe that everything would fit once everyone found the same page.
So how did she prepare herself?
In between mounds of jump shots this past summer, Bennett worked an internship with her hometown police department.
"I rode with cops in their cruisers, I actually got to observe drug stings, behind the scenes stuff."
A legal studies major, the 21-year-old Bennett wants to attend police academy after her career at UB is over.
"I'd like to be a crime scene investigator or do detective work and work at the local Federal bureau," said Bennett.
A summer filled with action and adventure, a little family bonding, and tons of hard work and dedication has allowed Bennett to enter her senior year with spirits higher than they ever have been.
"My teammates are like my sisters," said Bennett. "I love hanging out with them when we're not playing. I understand there's more to life than basketball."
A few weeks back, Bennett and her teammates kicked off the season in style, on the road, in front of a packed Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in the tiny town of Storrs, Conn. to face the three-time defending national champion UConn Huskies.
"Just being able to play against UConn was like a dream come true," Bennett said. "I'd love to lead our team to the MAC championship, and go to the NCAA tourney, that's one of my all-time goals in life. I feel like this year is the year, we have great chemistry, so when we all come together as a group, good things will happen."
Bennett's career has come full circle, from a nervous freshman playing her first collegiate game at Michigan State, to a relaxed senior co-captain leading her team against the three-time defending National Champion. When Bennett entered the gym at UConn, she did so with nerves of steel.
"I was kind of shocked, I thought I was going to be more nervous than I was, none of us really entered the UConn game in awe," Bennett said. "I was more nervous to get on the plane, I hate to fly."
Looking over at UConn to see her younger sister warming up as a fellow Bull, Bennett could see herself in Stephanie, realizing they were about to play Division I basketball together, as sisters and as teammates.
"My family is the one big rock in my life and being able to play with my sister here at UB is more than I could ever ask for," she said.
